The Eagles' next-man-up mindset continues, particularly along the defensive line, where injuries to two edge players challenge the depth of the position.
Bryce Huff, battling a wrist injury for several weeks, underwent surgery last week and is not eligible to return until the December 22 game at Washington at the earliest. Brandon Graham suffered an injury in Sunday night's win at Los Angeles that the team described as an elbow injury. Graham said after the game that he suffered a torn triceps, but Head Coach Nick Sirianni said after the game that the team will continue to look into the injury.
UPDATE: The Eagles placed Graham on Injured Reserve and claimed former first-round pick Charles Harris off waivers from the Panthers on Tuesday.
In any event, the Eagles have some challenges on the edge. Here is the picture as it stands now, understanding of course that is subject to change with six games remaining in the regular season and hopefully a long postseason run after that.
On the Active Roster
- Josh Sweat: He is having a terrific season, leading the Eagles with seven quarterback sacks – all in the last eight games. Sweat is working both sides of the line of scrimmage and has been a force off the edge closing on quarterbacks.
- Nolan Smith: The second-year player is making significant strides after the Eagles made him a first-round draft pick (No. 30 overall) in 2023. He has a great burst off the line of scrimmage, bends well, and has been productive, expanding his repertoire of moves and gaining experience. Smith has 3.5 quarterback sacks and six QB hits in the last seven games.
- Jalyx Hunt: The rookie third-round pick oozes ability and has been able to win more and more as he's gained added playing time. He plays extremely hard and is likely going to be asked to play more snaps in the immediate picture. Hunt had played just 42 defensive snaps prior to the Sunday night game in Los Angeles and once Graham went out with the injury, Hunt played 24 snaps and had a quarterback hit.
On the Practice Squad
- Tarron Jackson: A sixth-round draft pick by the Eagles in 2021, Jackson has played more than 300 career defensive snaps, so he has some experience. Jackson had a strong preseason and was caught in a numbers situation as the Eagles released him at the 53-man roster cutdown. Jackson then spent some time with Carolina, but he is now back in familiar footing and should be able to slide in and play within the system, if that's what the Eagles elect to do.
- Ochaun Mathis: A Rams sixth-round draft pick in 2023, Mathis joined the Eagles last week. He was active for eight games with the Rams last season and for five games with the Patriots this year. He has four total tackles and one quarterback hit in his career.
That is the way it looks at this very moment. There is no question that Executive Vice President/General Manager Howie Roseman has emergency plans to consider for every position, if that is what needs to be done, and that would include adding a player from outside the current roster.
Cleaning Out the Notebook From Win Over Rams
- Think of the context here: Philadelphia has recorded its 20th winning season under Jeffrey Lurie's ownership. The Eagles are tied for the fourth-most winning seasons in the NFL since 1995, with only New England (23), Green Bay (22), and Pittsburgh (22) ahead of them during that stretch. Anyone remember the pre-Jeffrey Lurie days?
- Nick Sirianni is the first Eagles head coach with winning seasons in each of their first four years with the team (previously tied with Jim Trimble, 1952-54). He owns a 43-19 (.694) career record with the Eagles. According to Elias Sports, that is the 7th-highest winning percentage by a head coach in NFL history (min. 60 games), trailing only Guy Chamberlin (.784, 58-16-7 from 1922-27), John Madden (.759, 103-32-7 from 1969-78), Vince Lombardi (.738, 96-34-6 from 1959-67, '69), Ray Flaherty (.720, 54-21-3 from 1936-42), George Allen (.712, 116-47-5 from 1966-77), and Jim Harbaugh (.696, 51-22-1 from 2011-14, '24). Sirianni's franchise-record .694 career winning percentage ranks 3rd among head coaches since 2021, behind Andy Reid (.758, 47-15) and Sean McDermott (.721, 44-17).
- Philadelphia, which is 5-1 (.833) in away games this season, ranks 2nd in the NFL with a .719 (23-9) road winning percentage since 2021, trailing only Kansas City (.742, 23-8) in that span. The Eagles have won four straight away games, marking their second-longest single-season road winning streak in the last 10 years, behind a seven-game stretch in 2022.
- The Eagles have held opponents under 300 total yards for seven consecutive games, which is the longest streak since 2008 (7 games, Weeks 11-17).
- How important is time of possession? It's been huge for the Eagles this season. The team ranks second in the NFL in the category, averaging 32 minutes, 38 seconds per game in time of possession. That's just 12 seconds behind the Pittsburgh Steelers and more than two minutes (2 minutes, 14 seconds, to be exact) better than the 2023 campaign.
The Eagles look to extend their six-game win streak. The Rams want to remain in the thick of the NFC West race. These two teams are a combined 10-1 since their respective bye weeks. Something has to give. Sunday Night Football is live from Los Angeles!